Echuca Regional Library Goes Solar

Image: Campaspe Shire Council via Facebook.

As part of Victoria’s Campaspe Shire Council’s green efforts, Echuca Regional Library now boasts 368 solar panels on its rooftop – and it will be saving a bunch of bucks on electricity to boot.

Council says the 100kW system (which is probably a tad under 100kW) will generate enough electricity for the library, with the surplus used to offset the energy consumption of Campaspe Shire main office situated adjacent to the building. Screens have also been installed in the library so the community can keep tabs on the system’s performance.

“The project is reducing electricity costs as well as reducing council’s overall carbon footprint by cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions,” said Campaspe Shire Council  Mayor, Cr Adrian Weston.

According to the 2017-21 Council Plan, 2015-16 emissions from electricity and gas used in all council owned and operated buildings and facilities totaled 2,760 tonnes of CO2 – and it aims to see no increase in the 2017-18 financial year. Council’s 2015-16 total electricity consumption was 2,304,664 kWh and the goal for 2017-18 is to reduce that by 5%.

Cr. Weston estimates simple payback of the library system will occur in just over 4 years. The plummeting cost of commercial solar coupled with increasing electricity costs means payback on systems has accelerated in recent years.

The Echuca Regional Library system’s official unveiling was on Monday and as part of the celebrations, local children were putting together solar powered LED lights at the library to send to households in remote areas of Papua New Guinea.

“The solar light project, sponsored through Earth Hour, teaches children meaningful lessons about energy poverty and renewable energy,” Cr Weston said.

Echuca’s Postcode A Small Scale Solar Powerhouse

Echuca’s postcode, 3564, is home to 15,944 people (2016 Census) and more than 1,700 smale scale solar power systems of less than 100 kilowatts capacity. According to the latest Clean Energy Regulator data, these systems have a collective capacity of approximately 7.9MW. That works out to just shy of 500 watts of solar capacity per person.

As a comparison, the Regulator indicates at least 6,751,647 kilowatts of solar panels (small scale systems) had been installed across Australia by the end of March 2018. Australia’s population is around 24.13 million (2016 Census), so that averages out to approximately 280 watts per capita; meaning postcode 3564 residents are punching well above their weight.

Big Solar For Campaspe Shire

Elsewhere in the Campaspe Shire, large-scale solar will soon make its mark. The Riverine Herald reports a 100MW solar farm consisting of 300,000 solar panels has been given the green light by Campaspe Shire Council. The facility will be constructed in Lancaster, which is approximately 46 kilometers from Echuca.